


It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

by citizen101erased



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Homophobia, Light Angst, M/M, Teacher AU, a christmas romcom, but I promise everything turns out great
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:07:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21935692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/citizen101erased/pseuds/citizen101erased
Summary: Dan has just started as a new teacher at a secondary school in Manchester, and immediately gets put in charge of the annual Christmas celebration. But between constant budget cuts, the two main roles coming down with laryngitis, and the original teacher possibly coming back earlier than expected, it will take all of Dan’s creativity - and that of the cute English teacher, Mr. Lester - to keep the show going, whatever it takes.
Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Comments: 35
Kudos: 74
Collections: Phandom Fic Fests Holiday Exchange 2019





	It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ILikeStopwatches](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ILikeStopwatches/gifts).



> Written for the PFF Secret Santa. 
> 
> Shoutout to my beta [Jude](http://judearaya.tumblr.com). I could not have written this in a day and a half without your constant support! Also thank you SO MUCH to my britpicker Cat, Daye for coming in real quick to fix some grammar issues, and all the countless people cheering me on this whole time.

It’s over. It’s all over. 

Dan may have his head buried in his hands as he sits on the edge of the stage, pointedly ignoring that the world exists, but he can still hear some of the Christmas decorations falling down behind him. The last thing he needs right now: more things going wrong. He groans, hearing the sound of it reverberate through the big, silent space. There should be singing and dancing, children laughing over the music, but instead there’s nothing. 

The door in the back of the auditorium opens, and he can hear careful footsteps coming towards him. 

“Dan, what happened? Why did Mimi tell me to come here?” Phil asks. Dan stands corrected: the last thing he actually needs on top of this entire mess is for his crush to come in and see him at what has to be the lowest point in his shortest career yet. 

“It’s over, Phil.” 

Phil’s hand lands awkwardly on Dan’s shoulder, as if he’s not sure he’s allowed to touch. 

“What’s over?” 

“Everything,” Dan says, looking up and gesturing around him. “Just. Just everything. The Christmas celebration, my career, my life.” 

To his surprise, Phil giggles. “Aren’t you being a bit overdramatic?” 

“Excuse me?” Dan gasps. “You have no idea what I just went through.” 

“Hmm,” Phil hums as he watches the last tinsel garland fall down draping dramatically over the piano. Dan can relate to this garland, which might be the saddest thing he’s thought yet. 

“I should probably just go home,” Dan sighs, sliding off the stage. “It’s no use moping around here, anyway.” 

“Or,” Phil replies, his head cocked as he looks at Dan with a strange look in his eyes. “We could go and get drunk. To be honest, I’ve had a bit of a day, too, but I don’t feel like going home just yet.” 

Dan thinks it over for a second. It’s technically safe to drink with his antidepressants, though not recommended by doctors, and it’s definitely not a great idea to get drunk with the guy you’re crushing on like mad. 

“Let’s go.”

* * *

An hour later, they find themselves at a pub. It’s a standard pub, with all the hallmarks of being old and popular: brown tables, brown bar, a brown, wooden floor that creaks and groans with age, windows that are either stained glass or haven’t been cleaned in the past two-hundred years (Dan isn’t sure which and he’s not about to try and find out.) 

There’s been something of an attempt at Christmas decorating, with one sad row of tinsel strung up above the bar. The bartender is wearing a Christmas hat, though the scowl on her face as she dries a glass with a dirty dish towel doesn’t do much for the Christmas atmosphere. 

Phil is sitting on a (brown, of course) chair across from Dan, looking decidedly uncomfortable as he stares intently at his pint of beer. 

“Remind me again why we’re here?” Dan asks. 

Phil shrugs. “Seemed appropriate, I suppose.” He carefully takes a sip of his beer, winces, and quickly puts the glass down again. 

“Phil,” Dan sighs. “Why didn’t you get something you actually like?” 

“Again, it just seemed appropriate,” Phil says, looking by all accounts like a kicked puppy. “Isn’t this what most people do when they’re upset? Go to a pub and have a beer? Wait, where are you going?” 

“Getting you something better to drink,” Dan says as he walks to the bar. 

When he comes back with two tequila sunrises, Phil’s face immediately lights up. 

“Now will you tell me what’s been going on?” Phil asks as he plays with the little paper umbrella. 

“How much time do you have?” 

“I have nowhere to go,” Phil shrugs. “So shoot. What’s up?” 

So Dan tells the story from the beginning (though if he’s leaving out some bits, well. It’s not like Phil will ever find out about that.)

* * *

Dan looked around at the group of teenagers gathered in his classroom. There were fifteen in total that agreed to perform in the annual Christmas celebration, and this was the first time they were all together in one room. 

He didn’t know them very well yet, having only started teaching here two months earlier, but he liked them. He liked most of his pupils, honestly. 

When he started this temp job, he really thought teenagers would be harder to work with. Of course, drama was an elective class for these age groups, so it wasn’t like most of them were being forced to sit through boring lessons on mathematics or literary analysis. 

He’d always heard so many horror stories. Bullying, shouting, kids showing up high, gang violence, blatant drug trading in the hallways. During the courses he took to officially qualify as a teacher they’d warned him of the teenagers, of thirteen-year-olds that didn’t understand yet that their actions had consequences but that did seem to think that making other children—and adults—cry was fun, and of the sixteen-year-olds more interested in their current love interests than their studies. He’d been offered courses specifically aimed at primary schools, because “those little ones can be so much fun” (although his experiences with his little brother proved otherwise).

But the stories had been so far from reality. Turned out most of the kids in his classes were more worried about passing exams and deciding their futures than they’d been given credit for. Besides, a lot of them were genuinely nice and funny, and they seemed to like him for some reason, too. 

Between this and Phil-the-cute-English-teacher, Dan was definitely in a much happier place than usual. 

Now, looking at his motley crew of teens, it was fascinating to see how these children from different forms were standing around, awkwardly trying not to touch each other, or even really look at each other. 

_Oh good, Sabrina is already talking to Jameela,_ he thought as he saw the two girls go over a list of songs he’d picked for everyone to choose from. 

Sabrina and Jameela were two of his best students. He’d happily help them both apply to study music, had they not both already admitted to having other life goals. Getting to hear the two of them sing together was going to be enough, though. Their voices were beautiful, and he couldn’t wait to hear what their duet would be like.

* * *

A week later, he was surprised to find Phil Lester, one of the school’s English teachers, suddenly sitting next to him at lunch in the teacher’s lounge. He smiled brightly at Dan as he opened his Zelda lunchbox with a flourish (Dan quickly moved Phil’s coffee out of harm's way, having already learned of Phil’s more clumsy tendencies.) 

“So, how’s the Christmas performance coming along?” Phil asked, as if he joined Dan for lunch every day. 

“Good! I mean, the kids have only gotten together twice now, and I still have some assignments open, especially for help with set design, but so far so good.” 

Phil nodded, his cheeks puffed up with the bread he’s munching on. In anyone else, Dan would’ve found this childish, but in Phil it was strangely endearing. 

“How are your lessons? Did you finally get them to read some Shakespeare?” 

Phil shook his head, quickly swallowing the food. “I never do, to be honest. I do try, but I don’t think it helps that I like Stephen King much more anyway.” 

“Shame,” Dan shrugged. “Romeo and Juliet is really fun to do. _Part, fools! Put up your swords; you know not what you do,_ ” he added in his most dramatic Shakespeare-voice. 

“Benvolio?” Phil blinked at him. 

“Yeah. I played him in my school’s performance.”

“Nice.” 

“Did you ever perform in any plays?” 

“No,” Phil said. “We also did Romeo and Juliet, and I tried getting a role, but apparently I am, and I quote, ‘the worst actor this side of Britain’ which is saying something considering the guy playing Mercutio fell asleep on stage.” 

“Wow.” 

“Yeah. It’s fine though. I don’t think I would’ve dealt well with all that attention anyway. I was such a shy kid. It’s a miracle I get up in front of all these teenagers every day. It was one of the last things anyone expected of me, becoming a teacher.” Phil laughed. 

“Would you do it now, though? Join a play, or even just be on a stage for some reason?” 

“Hm, maybe? I don’t know. I think I’d still feel judged, you know? At least within the classroom it’s just me and the children.” 

“Way to sound dodgy, Phil.” 

Phil laughed again, pushing at Dan’s shoulder. His tongue peeked out a little when he laughed, and Dan wondered, not for the first time, why he was so attracted to this man. 

“You know what I mean, Dan. It feels safer in there, without all those parents and other teachers there to see my every mistake. The people that say teenagers are awful obviously don’t have to deal with their parents that often.” 

Dan did know what Phil meant. He’d met some of the parents, and it had been an interesting experience, to say the least. There were some memories he’d prefer not to dwell on, ever, thank you very much. 

They spent the rest of the lunch break chatting amicably before going back to their respective classrooms. And if Dan smiled a bit more than usual, well. As far as what he’d tell the pupils, he was just really starting to get in the festive spirit.

* * *

It took about a month before things started going wrong. Dan expected some of this; no project ever goes completely right, especially not when working with children, but part of the fun of the arts was getting to improvise. 

They’d been practising the songs for the performances and had started working on some choreography. Dan was about to sit down with a small group of enthusiastic art students to discuss the design of the stage when he opened his work email. 

_Dear Mr. Howell,_

_I regret to have to inform you that due to fiscal constraints, the budget for the Christmas Celebration will have to be cut in half._

_We are aware that preparations are already well under way. However, I hope you will find a way to cut some of the costs._

_Our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience._

‘Sincere apologies’, sure. There was already almost no budget for this, and Dan had no idea how to get the stage decorations looking good now. He couldn’t exactly go raid the art classroom’s supply either, not without risking the ire of Mrs. Johnson. Again. 

Maybe he should ask Phil. The man seemed to have a real talent for finding bargains and saving money while still (usually) making things look good. 

“Have you asked them yet if any of their parents happen to have some wood and paint lying around that you could use?” Phil said the next day over lunch. 

“Can I really just ask even more of their parents? And what about the ones that don’t have anything, wouldn’t they end up feeling bad?” 

“You can send those kids off to the pound store with a limited budget, maybe? Get some garlands, some tinsel.” 

Dan decided to give it a go. It wasn’t like he had that many other options, anyway. It seemed to work fine at first, and the students definitely had fun working out how to decorate with the limited options they’d been given. 

“You think that’ll hold, sir?” Bradley asked, standing next to Dan as they looked at the decorations. Bradley had been taping multicoloured tinsel to a wooden beam. Dan really would’ve preferred to use something better than regular tape, but with all the safety regulations at the school—and Charlie, who wasn’t allowed near any tools since the Incident, in the same room—he was, unfortunately, limited to this. 

“It’ll just have to, I suppose. Luckily it’s just tinsel and not something heavy, right? What harm could it do.” 

“It could fall down during the performance?” 

Dan frowned. “Don’t jinx it, Bradley.” 

In the corner of the room, Sabrina and Jameela were practising “Feliz Navidad”. They stumbled over the Spanish parts of it before suddenly singing much louder during the English parts, all of it interspersed with giggling. 

Dan was glad to see them working so well together. It was incredible to see a new friendship develop right there, although the songs would probably sound better without the constant wheezing laughter interrupting them.

* * *

Dan wasn’t sure what part of his life he was currently more excited about: the preparations for the Christmas performance going well, or flirting with Phil. 

Because he was definitely flirting. It was probably inappropriate to flirt this much with a coworker, but Dan hoped that being a temp gave him some leeway. It wasn’t like he’d be hanging around at this school forever, after all. 

So he made sure to remember how Phil liked his coffee and get it ready for him in the morning. Dan suspected he was usually even less of a morning person than Phil, but it was worth it to be here a bit earlier to get to see Phil’s thankful smile every morning. 

For a long time, he didn’t even know if Phil was single—or, also important, into men. Dan knew it was a risk, flirting with a possibly straight male coworker in your temp job, but never let it be said that Dan didn’t take any risks. 

One day there was a talk over lunch between Dan, Phil and a couple of other coworkers. It started off fine, as it always did, with mostly generic chatting about the weather and what everyone had been up to over the weekend. 

It’s all fun until one coworker mentioned having been to a gay bar for a bachelorette party. Dan noticed both he and Phil immediately tensed up. 

The coworker continued by saying: “So the gay bar was really fun! Those gays really know how to party. It’s just so annoying they then flirt with me, you know?” 

“Then don’t go to a gay bar if you don’t want gay people to flirt with you,” Phil snapped. 

“It’s just a bar though, innit? If the gays don’t want to be treated differently, then why do you have separate bars?” 

“Why did you go to that separate bar instead of a regular bar unless it’s to treat us differently?” 

“Look, you know I don’t hate gay people. I like you well enough, don’t I? I just don’t need them to start having sex in front of me, you know?” 

Phil burst out laughing. “Mate, I don’t know what kind of people you hang out with, but that’s not normal regardless of sexuality. I don’t want the straights to have sex in front of me either.” 

Dan’s heart skipped a beat, and he couldn’t stop staring at Phil, suddenly seeing him in an entirely different light. Phil wasn’t only gay, he was also willing to stand up for the community in public? 

Dan needed a moment. “I’m, uh.” He stood up, fumbling with his belongings and almost dropped his phone.

“Dan, are you okay?” Phil asked, obviously worried. 

“Yes! Yes, fine. I just remembered I need to do some lesson prepping, so I’ll just. Go now. Bye, everyone.” 

Later that day, after classes ended, Phil stopped by Dan’s classroom. 

“Hey,” Phil said softly, standing in the open doorway with his arms clutching his bag to his chest. “Um, can we talk? I need to ask you something.” 

_No._ “Yes, of course, come in, Phil.”

Phil frowned, closing the door softly behind him. 

“It’s just.” Phil stopped again to take a deep breath. “You acted so strangely after the gay bar discussion earlier. Are you—do you—are you against gay people?” 

_Oh, Phil, you brave, brave man._

“No! Phil! Me too! Also gay, I mean. Um. I’m gay, too.” 

The relief and happiness on Phil’s face was worth all the anxiety. 

After that, it was as if their friendship reached a new level. Some coworkers started joking they’d become joined at the hip. Phil started dropping by the drama room after classes almost every day so they could walk to their cars together. They sat together every lunch, saw each other first thing every morning. 

If Dan didn’t know any better, he’d have thought they were already dating.

* * *

So maybe the wheezing laughter in the budding friendship between Sabrina and Jameela was a warning sign. 

By the Monday of the week of the performance, Dan was putting out small fires wherever they arose—which was absolutely everywhere. He hadn’t even seen Phil yet, which was unusual for them—they’d started meeting up every morning before classes for coffee and a quick chat. 

“Sir, the tinsel just won’t stick, am I really not allowed to use a drill?” 

“No, Charlie. We talked about this, remember? You’re not allowed to work with actual tools anymore, especially not an actual drill. We don’t want to have to call the emergency services again. Have you tried glueing it on?” Dan decided to not even ask why Charlie wanted to use a _drill_ to put up tinsel. 

“Yeah, but the regular glue isn’t strong enough.” 

Dan groaned, rubbing his forehead. “Alright, try using the superglue, but I swear to god if I have to go to A&E with you because you got tinsel stuck to yourself there will be words. Understood?” Hopefully, with superglue, the worst thing that could happen was Charlie getting a body part stuck to something rather than half the building burning down. 

“Got it, sir!” Charlie beamed at him before bouncing off.

“Mr. Howell!” a panicked voice rang out. 

“Mimi, what’s wrong?” Dan turned around to face the young girl, trying his best to be as calm as possible. Mimi was the youngest in the group, having skipped a year. Her parents had encouraged her to try some more arts to balance out the sciences, but being out of her comfort zone meant anxiety and panic attacks. Dan had learned quickly to always stay calm around her. 

This was definitely a panic moment. 

“It’s Jameela and Sabrina, sir! They lost their voices! Now what are we going to do? We don’t have a show without them!” 

Fuck. 

“Mimi, take a deep breath for me.” 

She did, and thankfully it worked. 

“Alright, now try again. What is going on?” 

“Sabrina and Jameela have laryngitis and have lost their voices.” 

“Both of them at the same time?” What are the odds, Dan thought. 

“It’s from all the snogging!” Charlie shouted from somewhere behind them. Dan decided to ignore all the tinsel stuck to their fingers and to take a deep breath himself, too. 

“Where did you hear about this, Mimi?”

“They’ve sent an email to the whole group, sir,” she said, frowning as if it was super obvious. 

Right. He definitely should’ve checked his email before coming in. 

“Thank you for letting me know, Mimi. And don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll find a solution, okay?” 

She nodded, obviously not quite believing him, but wandered off anyway. Dan decided to use this moment to check his email. 

There was more than one important email in there, though. 

The most recent one was from Sabrina: 

_Hi everyone!!_

_soooo Jameela and I both got laryngitis and lost our voices. weird huh! anyway, it really sucks but I guess this means neither of us can sing for a while :( sorry mr howell!!!_

The other email was from HR: 

_Dear Mr. Howell,_

_I am very sorry to be the bearer of bad news, especially this close to the holidays. However, we have just received news that Mrs. Ness has been cleared to go back to work in January. Unfortunately, this means we have to end your contract by December 31._

_Although I know this was a part of the arrangement from the beginning, I truly am very sorry to bring you this news._

_I wish you the best of luck with the Christmas celebrations, and, despite everything, happy holidays._

Behind him, some of the teenagers were screaming something at each other, followed by a loud crack. Dan turned around just in time to see one of the carefully constructed main pieces of their set fall apart, slowly followed by most of the rest. 

“Mr. Howell! Charlie has a hammer!” Anya said, too loudly now for the deafening silence that had followed the breaking apart of their set. Charlie is standing in the middle of the rubbish, looking sheepishly at Dan with a massive hammer in their hands.

“Everybody out,” Dan said. 

“W-what?” Anya said in a small voice. 

“I said: everybody OUT. Right now.” He was shaking now, barely able to contain his tears.

The teenagers slowly trickled out, some of them looking at Dan with big, sad eyes, while others didn’t meet his eyes at all. 

Once everyone was out, he sat down on the edge of the stage, and started sobbing.

* * *

“And that’s how we got here,” Dan concludes somewhat lamely. 

Phil drops his paper umbrella back in his drink and reaches out to grab Dan’s hand instead. 

“I’m sorry all of this is happening to you.” 

“Thank you,” Dan says quietly, quickly wiping away a tear threatening to escape. 

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Phil asks as he looks into Dan’s eyes. His eyes are so big and bright, and Dan doesn’t know if the lighting is playing tricks on him, but it looks as if Phil’s eyes are a lot of different colours. He could stare at those eyes for hours. 

“Well, if you want,” Dan says, pulling himself out of his reverie. “There’s still some decorations that need putting together and painting. We only have a couple of people building the set, and Charlie isn’t allowed to come anywhere near any tools. Or superglue.” 

“Yes, let me bring my manly cordless drill so I can pretend to be good at building things, even though I definitely have two left hands.” 

“As someone who’s left handed, I’m offended,” Dan laughs. 

“Yes, well. Everyone makes mistakes. Yours is being left handed,” Phil shrugs, with a fond smile on his face. 

“Maybe you could paint something though?” 

“Oh, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Phil shudders. “Last time I tried to paint something, I used one of those Bob Ross painting sets and tutorials, and it didn’t end well.” 

“Wait, I thought Bob Ross was meant to be easy to follow?” Dan frowns, thinking of the tutorials he’s seen. They always seemed easy enough to follow. 

“Yes! That’s what I thought, too! It’s all a lie, Dan. However!” Phil suddenly sits up straight. There’s a strange gleam in his eyes that Dan doesn’t trust at all. “I have an idea.” 

“Great! What is it?” 

“I’m not telling you,” Phil says, picking his umbrella up again and staring at it intently. “All you need to do is go home, get some rest, and I’ll see you again soon. Alright?” 

Dan sighs, too tired to argue. Besides, Phil seems set on his idea, and if there’s anything Dan has learned in the past months, it’s that once Phil has his mind set on something, nothing’s going to stop him.

* * *

The next morning, Phil is already waiting for him in the teachers’ lounge with a big grin on his face. 

“Good morning, Dan,” he sings, much too cheerily for this early in the morning. He is holding two cups of coffee, and immediately hands one over to Dan. 

“Hi to you, too,” Dan replies, already suspicious. Not that that stopped him from accepting the coffee. All the drama and crying yesterday have left him feeling numb, and he could really use some hot coffee to help him become human again. 

“So,” Phil says, more quietly now, stepping closer to Dan. “I may have something for you, but you will have to come to the auditorium for your lunch break.” 

“Okay? Why do you always make everything sound so dodgy, Phil?” Dan asks, pretending to be disgusted. 

Phil just laughs, and pats Dan on the shoulder. “See you then, Dan,” he says before walking promptly out of the teachers’ lounge twenty minutes earlier than usual.

* * *

By lunchtime, Dan is so nervous his stomach is starting to hurt. What on earth is Phil up to? 

It doesn’t help that some of his students have been giving him strange looks, while giggling about something to each other. 

When he arrives at the auditorium, he sees someone quickly running inside, followed by a lot of shushing sounds and giggles. Dan stops to take a moment to appreciate teenagers and their total lack of subtlety. It can be a double-edged sword, but in moments like these he loves it. 

He pushes open the doors to find Phil surrounded by Dan’s group of teenagers, somehow covered in paint. He’s also wearing a Christmas hat. Sabrina and Jameela are there, still with massive paintbrushes in their hands, their free hands holding each other’s. 

“What’s going on?” Dan says, feeling the butterflies in his stomach go wild, although he can’t tell if it’s from nerves, excitement, or both. 

“Dan, come here,” Phil says, extending a hand. Dan takes it, and lets himself be pulled towards the stage, ignoring the tittering from the students when their hands link. 

“So, here’s the thing,” Phil starts. “I’ve decided I’m going to help you out in whatever way I actually can. So no painting or building things, because let’s face it, I’m just as much of a threat to public safety as Charlie—” 

“Hey!” Charlie shouts from the back of the room. 

“But I can help you get some oversight and come up with some ideas,” Phil continues as if he wasn’t interrupted. “And help make sure this show is still happening. Because that’s what’s important, right? The show must go on.” 

He picks up a folder that’s lying on the stage. 

“I’ve made a list of everything that needs doing and changed some assigned tasks around so everyone can still join, even if they don’t have a voice. And I may have added a few secret items no one’s telling you about, under threat of not getting any of my special home baked christmas cookies—” 

“You buy those cookies, Mr. Lester, and we know it!” Bradley calls out from where he’s gone back to putting up tinsel on the stage. 

“Anyway!” Phil says loudly. “We’ll still need some of your help in getting things ready, considering we only have one day to get everything done, but we should be able to manage it. There’s one other plan I want to talk to you about right now though.” He looks shy suddenly. “How good is your singing?” 

“Terrible, honestly. You’d think someone who’s organizing a musical would be a better singer, but alas.” 

“Hm. Probably still good enough for the rest of us, though. Great! We’re taking over “Feliz Navidad” from Sabrina and Jameela.” 

“Excuse me,” Dan splutters. “We’re what?” 

“We’re performing! You and I, together!” Phil beams at him. 

Mimi clears her throat behind them. They turn, and see her wordlessly holding up two golden, sparkly jackets. 

“I also may have promised Mimi she was allowed to pick an outfit from the theatre club for us,” Phil says, blushing a little. 

“Mr. Howell, are you going to do it?” Mimi asks with big, innocent eyes. Dan turns back to Phil, just to see he’s also pulling the same puppy eyes. 

Dan sighs, then takes one of the jackets from Mimi. “Do these even fit us?” He asks. 

The excited smiles he gets in return are worth it. 

Although Dan is still incredibly emotional and trying hard not to cry too much, there is only one day left until the performance, which means they really need to get cracking on getting everything ready. 

And so, after school ends, everyone gathers back in the auditorium to continue working on the set, practicing songs and dances, and fixing last minute outfit problems. Every now and then, someone will walk out of the room, glancing nervously at Dan, who pretends not to see anything each time. Even the several times it’s Phil who tries to sneak out but isn’t nearly as subtle as he thinks. 

The fact that Phil doesn’t seem to notice that Dan sees them sneaking around means Dan can probably get away with some sneaky looks at Phil, just to stare at him for a bit. 

Phil is so beautiful, inside and out. Dan loves how he looks, for sure, but over the past weeks Phil has proven himself to be kind, compassionate and caring, too. Importantly: he seems to care about Dan specifically. 

Dan knows he’s screwed. He’s definitely, incredibly, undeniably, in love with Phil.

* * *

Dan is panicking. He knows he shouldn’t be, but he’s a drama teacher for a reason, and that reason is that he is a drama queen. 

“Dan, it’s going to be okay,” Phil’s reassuring voice says from somewhere in front of him. Dan feels Phil’s hands on his arms, but he’s so stressed, he can’t feel a thing. 

“Is it, though? Phil, look at everything that could go wrong here.” 

“Have a little faith in our skills, please. We did great. _You_ did great. We’re ready for this, I promise you. Let’s go and have fun out there, alright?” 

Dan nods, and looks into Phil’s eyes. The light from the stage lamps is reflected in them, bringing out all the different colours. Before he registers what he’s doing, he’s raised a hand to Phil’s cheek, slowly running a thumb over his cheekbone. 

Phil leans into it slightly, when a hum behind them interrupts them. Dan immediately drops his hand as if he burned it. They turn around to see Mimi. Her hair is still in her usual buns, although her colourful scrunchies have been replaced by golden ones. 

“You’re almost up,” she says, crossing her arms and tapping her foot impatiently on the floor. “The show is supposed to start in one minute.” 

“Thank you, Mimi. You’re the best,” Dan says. She just nods with a serious face, before speed walking over to Charlie and shouting at them to put those scissors down right. now.

“That girl will go places someday,” Phil says, laughing. “She’s right though, the stage is waiting for us.” He takes Dan’s hand, and holds it in both of his own. 

Dan hears Bradley finish the introduction up on the stage. 

“And now, for our first song, to set the bar as low as possible for the rest of the show, it’s Mr. Lester and Mr. Howell with ‘Feliz Navidad’!” 

The crowd, full of students, parents and teachers, starts clapping. 

“Let’s do this,” Dan says with one last, fond glance at Phil, before walking onto the stage.

* * *

“Sir, that was great!” Sabrina rasps at Dan when they come off the stage. 

“I didn’t expect it to be that fun!” Bradley adds, grinning brightly. 

“Bradley, after all this is over, you and I need to have a talk about how to be respectful to your teachers,” Phil says sternly, although the smile on his face really undermines that seriousness. 

“Shouldn’t you also be on the stage now?” Dan asks, mentally going over the new plan. 

“No, not until after the next song is finished,” Bradley says. “And sir, Mr. Howell doesn’t mind if I’m insulting, right?” 

“I do, actually,” Dan says, just so he can enjoy the sight of Bradley’s smile dropping. “Get back to the show, Bradley. And behave!”

After that, Dan gets to enjoy the show from the sidelines with Phil at his side. He’s proud of what they’ve accomplished—in just a day, they’ve managed to redesign the stage decor (without any injuries). They’ve changed some of the songs, and who is performing them. 

Bradley is obviously having a great time hosting the show. Sabrina and Jameela both turned out to have a great time doing everyone’s make-up, which is why Dan’s hair is currently covered in gold glitter. He’s already resigned himself to finding glitter everywhere for the foreseeable future. 

Mimi is mostly running the show behind the stage, keeping an eye on the clock and reminding everyone to be in position. Dan is glad they managed to convince her to join one of the acts on the stage, though. Especially after she’s done and he sees her parents in the crowd crying with pride. 

At the end of the show, all the performers gather on stage, Dan and Phil included. It must look funny: two giant, adult men towering over all these children while wearing sparkly jackets. 

Charlie and Bradley each pull on a rope, which opens a giant papier-mâché ball filled with confetti made from old homework (a suggestion from Phil that got accepted by a lot of cheering, drowning out the “only _old_ homework!” both Dan and Phil were trying to get across to them.)

Afterwards, after they’ve all left the stage and have congratulated each other on a show well done, Charlie comes up to Dan. “Mr. Howell, I need your help.” 

“What did you break this time?” Dan aks, already racking his brain as to what Charlie could’ve been up to in the time between the end of the show and now. “Wait, where’s Phil?” He says, looking around suddenly and realizing Phil isn’t next to him anymore. Strange, he was here a moment ago.

“Um. Somewhere else? I don’t know. I’ll just show you, okay? Please come with me?” Charlie says, shuffling their feet nervously. 

Dan follows Charlie out of the auditorium and into an empty hallway. It’s strange to walk here suddenly, with the muffled sounds of the crowd behind the doors and their own footsteps echoing through the space. Dan knows this is likely one of the last times he’ll walk this hallway. After all, now that the Christmas celebration is over, his job here is done.

Charlie leads the way to an empty classroom. The first thing Dan notices when he walks in is that all the tables and chairs have been pushed to the sides, leaving a large space free in the middle. 

The next thing he notices is Phil standing in front of the blackboard with a bouquet of rainbow-coloured flowers in his hands. 

“Hi, Dan,” Phil says, doing a nervous and awkward little wave. 

“Phil, what’s going on?” Dan slowly walks closer to Phil, unsure of what to do. 

“So, um. I know this is a weird time for you. You only just got to this school some months ago, and now they’re making you leave which is so dumb, but I really wanted you to know you left a massive impact on this school, and the students. On me.” Phil blushes, his usually pale face suddenly going bright red. “Oh god, I should be more used to this, I’m thirty-two years old,” he mumbles to himself, shaking his head. Dan can’t help but laugh a little. It’s just so adorable and so very, very Phil. 

“Ok,” Phil continues, taking a deep breath. “I didn’t want this to be like a super public gesture, because I hate those and I think you might, too.” 

“Yes, they’re awful and put too much pressure on one person for fear of social rejection,” Dan blurts out, immediately regretting it. “Sorry, go on.” 

“No, you’re right. Though I did enlist some teenagers to help out, and they’re undoubtedly listening to us right now.” Phil shoots an amused glance at the small window next to the door, where Dan can just see the edge of a shoe that looks suspiciously like Charlie’s boots. 

“Charlie, get out!” Dan says loudly. It’s immediately followed by the sounds of bodies crashing into each other and a lot of whispering and shushing, though thankfully the sounds then disappear down the hallway. 

“Now that we can actually continue,” Phil says, putting the flowers down before stepping closer to Dan. He looks into Dan’s eyes, his own eyes not moving away, as if there’s a thread between them and Phil is clinging onto it like a lifeline. “What I’m really trying to say is, that I really like you. I think you’re smart, and funny, and caring. And it helps that you’re drop-dead gorgeous.” 

Dan snorts. 

“I mean it! Have you seen yourself in a mirror lately? I love your curly hair and your big, brown eyes and you’re really fit.”

“Tell me more,” Dan whispers, taking the last step forward so they’re so close all they can do is whisper. 

“I was kind of hoping you’d say you feel the same, actually,” Phil replies. 

“I’m going to kiss you now,” Dan says, not breaking eye contact with Phil. 

“Okay, that’s good too,” Phil says. 

It’s all he gets a chance to say, before Dan leans in.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi to me on [Tumblr](https://throwing-roses-into-the-abyss.tumblr.com)!
> 
> You can reblog the Tumblr post for this fic [here!](https://throwing-roses-into-the-abyss.tumblr.com/post/189981738472/its-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like-christmas)
> 
> Let me know if you enjoyed it! <3


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